John talked about various things. He showed us about a drum sander he has and showed the good results he got with it. This sander can be used in place of a surface planer. but you can not remove much wood with each pass through the sander.

He mentioned his Tormek sharpening machine and the cost.

He also described his shop vac system and how much he liked it. The motor/saw dust collection portion is outside the shop because it is too noisy and takes up too much space. All his major power tools are connected to the vacuum system, and the system can be turned on automatically when you turn on the power to any machine. So you don’t have to turn on the vacuum and then go to the machine you want to use. You just turn on the tool you want to use and the vacuum system starts automatically.

Then he took us to see the grandfather clock he recently won in a club drawing. He has installed the movement which was working and giving the right time, but he has not been able to get the chimes working yet. He has a clock expert coming to help him with them. The two doors are out having glass installed in them. After this work is done he will put the finish on it.

Next he took us inside his home and showed us the slant top desk he built using black walnut that he got from his son recently died. The desk had a slant top and when you opened it, there are little drawers and compartments inside. It is a very impressive piece of work . He built it for his wife as a remembrance of their son. He built it with the help of Mike Dummett, another club member.

Next came the goodies, two kinds of home made cookies as well as a cake. Very good stuff, all made by Fay.

Special thanks to Ed Goldberg for supplying me with this Information since I was unable to attend John’s meet.